The NC State women’s basketball team (11-6, 2-2 ACC) dropped a hard-fought contest against the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals (16-1, 4-0 ACC) Wednesday at the KFC Yum! Center, falling by a final score of 65-58.
Off the tip, State took the early lead, jumping out to a 6-2 advantage with a little over sixteen minutes remaining in the first half. However, the Wolfpack could not sustain its scoring barrage, as the Cardinals locked down the State guards with an exasperating full court press. The Pack went a staggering ten minutes without a field goal, while the Cardinals inflicted 20 straight points, bumping the score up to 22-6 in favor of Louisville.
With a little over seven minutes remaining in the half, senior guard Krystal Barrett provided the Pack with a shot to the arm during the media timeout. During the break, Barrett implored her team to not give up and stay in the fight.
Barrett’s message was well received as the Pack finally ended its scoring drought with less than seven minutes remaining in the half and closed the half by outscoring the Cardinals, 13-10.
Redshirt senior Len’Nique Brown-Hoskin and sophomore Ashley Williams drained back-to-back three point baskets before the horn to pull the Pack within 13 with the score 32-19.
State carried its momentum from the end of the first half into the second, as the Pack heightened its energy level on both sides of the floor.
With a little more than 11 minutes remaining in the game, the Wolfpack remained within striking distance of the Cardinals with the score sitting at 52-40.
With under nine minutes remaining in the contest, the Pack was finally able to breach Louisville’s double digit lead behind another three-ball from Brown-Hoskin, making the score 47-38.
With under seven minutes to go, Louisville increased its lead back to 13 behind the strong play of freshman guard Mariya Moore.
The resilient Wolfpack would not go away though, as head coach Wes Moore’s club mounted a 9-0 run to make the score 55-51 with 3:50 to play.
However, four points was as close as the State women could come to the Louisville squad, as the young Cardinals found a rhythm in the closing minutes of the game and survived a battle from a Wolfpack team that was at least two inches shorter than the Cardinals at every position.
State’s long scoring drought in the first half really came back to haunt Moore’s guard-laden team in the second. Louisville’s bigs made it difficult for the Pack to find any easy baskets in the paint during the closing minutes. State’s scoring runs could only be sustained by its ability to knock down the open three.
Brown-Hoskin led all scorers with 18 points while redshirt sophomore Dominique Wilson added 13 and sophomore Miah Spencer poured in 10.
State will be back in action on Sunday as the Wolfpack travel to Winston-Salem to face-off against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
